Jacks prep for west coast

What’s On Tap: South Dakota State is set to close out a season-long five-dual road trip on the west coast. SDSU will wrestle Utah Valley on Feb. 6 before traveling up to California for a pair of non-conference duals on Feb. 9 against Cal Poly and Stanford in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

In the Polls: Junior Cody Pack continues to be amongst those of the nationally ranked, coming in at No. 17 (AWN) and (InterMat), along with being ranked No. 20 (Flowrestling).

Last Time Out: The Jacks dropped a pair of non-conference duals in a triangular with Ohio and No. 5 Ohio over the weekend. SDSU opened the day with a loss to the Bobcats, 32-6, before falling to the Panthers, 29-12. Pack was the lone Rabbit to win both of his matches.

Scouting the Mustangs: Cal Poly (3-6 overall) are led by Brendan Buckley, who is in his third season at the Helm of the Mustangs. On the mat, Cal Poly boasts two ranked wrestlers in 133-pounder Devon Lotito (17th - InterMat) and Dominic Kastl (14th - WIN).

Scouting the Cardinal: Stanford (15-4 overall) is fresh off of a sweep if Grand Canyon and Arizona State on Monday and are on a six-dual winning streak. The Cardinal are led by fifth-year head coach Jason Borrelli. Stanford has four wrestlers ranked as 125-pounder Evan Silver (12th - InterMat), Ryan Mango (10th - InterMat), Jim Wilson (18th - InterMat) and Dan Scherer (19th - InterMat) are all nationall ranked.

History Lesson: SDSU trails UVU 7-1 in the all-time series that dates back to 2005-06. The Jacks fell 22-18 last season. The Jacks will also be looking for their first win against both Cal Poly and Stanford - both series stand at 1-0 in favor of the opposition. SDSU last faced Cal Poly in 1972-73, while they dropped a 22-11 decision to the Cardinal last season.

Socially Showdown: Sunday’s dual vs. Stanford will feature the top-two teams in the latest social media power rankings, as announced by the NWCA and ELS Marketing. SDSU remained ranked team in February’s rankings - the third straight month SDSU wrestling has garnered the top ranking. Jackrabbit wrestling continues to launch itself into the national spotlight through expanded use of its social media platforms and the #GetJacked mantra. To go along with its popular “Jacked Up Monday” videos, SDSU has added “Jackrabbit Wrestling: All Access” as a second weekly video. These videos are released on Thursdays and gives fans a unique, behind-the-scenes look at the Jacks. These All Access videos have included everything from a preview show, to cribs and a day in the life. Coach Bono and his staff have encouraged fans to interact with SDSU wrestling via social media to suggest future video topics.

Looking Ahead: SDSU will return to Frost Arena for the final time this season on Feb. 14 for a non-conference dual with Northern Illinois at 7 p.m.

Program History: 2013-14 marks the 65th season of Jackrabbit wrestling. SDSU owns a 505-349-22 (.589) program record. Chris Bono is the 12th coach in Jackrabbit history and owns a 47-34 career (.580). SDSU has won six conference championships, with the last coming in 1996-97.